Zootopia - Edge of Eternity
by Cloudsword774
Summary: Nick and Judy take on what looks to be a...slow day. Things get crazy real fast when they decide to visit the old Natural History Museum. The new exhibit seems to be a little more lifelike than they anticipate. (Based off of a dream I had, READ AND REVIEW!)
1. Before it Began!

**Zootopia**

 **Edge of Eternity**

 **Disclaimer**

 **After seeing the Movie, I had a dream that I just had to wright about.**

 **I do not own the Characters of Zootopia at all. They belong to Disney!**

 **Chapter 1 – Before it Began!**

Two silhouettes stood in the darkness of the eclipse, each glaring at each other as their eyes shined with a blue hue that faded to yellow. They couldn't see the features of the other, but somehow, they knew. A samurai, one with swords long and curved at his side, a large Kimono hung from his shoulders instead of traditional armor, his paw resting on the end of the handle of his katana. The other, gilded in a fancy Kimono laced with fine jewels on the hem and stitched with what looked like gold thread. In his hand, a long pole with a large orb at the end.

Colors didn't matter to them at the moment, they each stood glaring at the other instead, anger erupting from the samurai as the other just smiled, "Where is she?" he asked, his words in erupting with fierce vengeance. Lightning flashed, and suddenly they could see each other. The samurai a red fox, and the other a large black and white badger.

"You want her?" the badger asked, "Come and get her!" The fox dashed forward drawing his katana at lightning speed, while the badger lifted his staff and blocked. With a twist of his wrist, the large ball on the top was pointed at the fox, and started to glow. The red light mixed with the fox's green eyes making him look demonic in nature.

He dodged, jumping up and back as the red light sailed underneath him. As soon as his toes touched the ground again, he dashed in, locking his blade with the staff of his enemy, "Enough of your sorcery!" he exclaimed, "Were is she?"

"In her proper place, waiting at the alter patiently for you!" the badger said, and lifted his staff into the air, before slamming it down on the ground. The fox then jumped again, clearing both the badger's head, and the blast radius in a single jump. "HEY!" the badger called out as he turned to see the samurai make a dash for it.

At the top of the cliff, he could see her as the lightning flashed, the short grey bunny, with her arms stretched out, and tied firmly to the alter of stone at the top. "I have to get there!" the fox said to himself, and watched as something lifted itself up from beyond the cliff. The fog made it hard to see, but he knew. He neared her, and watched as what looked to be a large Japanese dragon pushed its head out of the low clouds, its eyes searching before it looked down at the scared grey rabbit. "Eeep!" was all she said, as the dragon smiled, its black scales shining in the thunder's light.

It lunged, and felt something hit its fang. Rearing back in pain, the dragon tossed its head side to side letting its silver mane be tossed in the wind. With a final roar, it voiced its anger, and opened its eyes to find the samurai. The bunny gasped as she opened her own eyes, being greeted with the sight of an angry dragon looking at her instead of seeing the inside of his stomach. "It is your destiny to die by my blade!" she heard from above her, and felt her arms loosen from the ropes that tied her in place. She never looked up to see her rescuer, but she knew. She rubbed her wrists, and was quickly pulled form her sitting position by the back of her kimono.

She watched the dragon's head hit the ground, shattering the alter as if bit into the earth instead of her and the warrior. She was forcefully tossed to the ground as he landed, the warrior throwing her away from himself. "I will have the glory of slaying this beast myself!" he shouted as the dragon rose back up.

"You stand no chance!" the bunny shouted back at him.

"I cannot fail, not until I have fulfilled my promise to you!" the fox stated, and once again, struck the dragon's tooth as it tried to take him instead.

"You cannot defeat a dragon by yourself!" she stated and moved her body to his front grabbing him by the edges of his under layer.

He growled, and pushed her, getting her paws to release him as she tumbled to the ground, "You challenge me?! YOU DISHONOR ME?" he shouted.

"I have done no such thing!" she called back, her eyes narrowed in both concern and anger. She heard the dragon roar again, and turned to see the beast readying to strike. She quickly moved to her knees, placing the palms of her paws together, and lowering her head, her ears flopping against her back as she did.

"I'll kill you!" she heard the samurai shout. He lifted his sword, and stood behind her, his blade ready at his side, "I'LL KILL YOU!" he shouted again, just as the dragon lunged, and with a battle cry, his vision went white.

"GUH!" Nick Wilde gasped as he found himself sweating in bed. It was as if he couldn't breathe, his throat just felt paralyzed, but with a quick swallow, it came back to life, and he breathed again, taking in air at a rapid pace. "What the hell was that?" he asked himself as he looked to the window.


	2. Just a Dream?

**Chapter 2 – Just a Dream?**

Nick whipped his face as he looked into the mirror. His bathroom was decorated with what looked to him to be a type of off white/grey tile lining the wall, or at least he thought it was tile, he hadn't really cared to check. The floor had white and grey patterned linoleum. That he knew, he felt the vinyl underneath the pads of his paws. Other than that, the whole thing was white.

He rubbed his face, trying to forget the dream he had just had. "Ugh!" he groaned as he splashed his face with water, "Why can't I get that dream out of my head?" He knew why, 'It felt so real!' he thought, 'I could feel the silk of her dress…thing as I grabbed her!' He once again thought about it, and remembered the rabbit, "She looked just like Judy!" he said out loud.

"Who looked like me?" he heard from outside his bathroom door.

"GYAH!" he called out and turned once again to the closed door.

"Chill!" he heard Judy say, "I'm not that stupid. If I hear you talking to yourself in your bathroom you probably don't want me to disturb you!"

"What are you even doing here?" Nick asked in a panic, and then collected himself, smirking in his usual way, "Trying to sneak a peek at the goods?"

"EW, gross!" he heard her say, "I'm just here to pick you up for work!"

Suddenly he let his eyes go wide, "Work?" he asked in a whisper, "What time is it?"

"Twenty minutes to seven!" Judy responded, and in a silent panic, he rushed to get his uniform on. He had hung it in the bathroom just for emergencies like this.

A few seconds later, he threw the door open, ready for the day in his blue police uniform, "Ready when you are!" he said with a grin.

Judy, a grey rabbit in a very similar outfit, smiled at him, and rolled her eyes in her head, "Having too much fun with yourself?" she asked.

"Ew, just…ew!" he said in response. The two of them walked out into his apartment, a medium sized dark wood floored space that opened up into both his bedroom and his kitchen. He didn't mind that the two rooms were almost connected by half a wall, at least he could have some privacy while sleeping, and unlike Judy's old apartment, he didn't have to worry about noisy or nosy neighbors because his walls were thick enough to muffle most obnoxious noises.

"By the way, your fly is undone!" she said as they neared his apartment door.

"Yah right!" he said, and instinctively looked down, "GYAH!" he called out, and quickly closed the exposing flap. Judy simply chuckled as she found herself ahead of him.

"So what kept you?" Judy asked.

Knowing he had been found out by his best friend, he sighed, but the smile on his face never left, he'd rather be caught by her than chief Bogo any day, she'd actually tell him something was wrong instead of let him go the entire day without knowing. "It was a crazy dream!" he told her as they approached what looked to be a nice green coupe.

"A dream?" she asked, "Was I in it?" He knew she was joking, or teasing. She had gotten good at blurring the two lines of harmless fun.

"Yes actually!" he said smoothly. Her jaw dropped, and she paused in her movement to get into the car. With that, she fell to the asphalt below.

"I was?" she asked in shock.

"I think it was you!" he said as he climbed into the passenger side.

"Did you see the face?" Judy asked as she literally hopped into the driver seat.

"Yup!" he said quickly.

"And?" she asked as she turned the key to start the vehicle.

"She looked like you, and she didn't look like you!" he responded.

"Nick, that makes no sense!" she said, and then smirked with mischief in her voice, "Unless it was naughty!"

"Whoa!" Nick said as he turned to her, "What is up with you today? Are you going through puberty?"

"Hey, I already did that!" she told him, "And I nearly doubled in height!"

Nick then placed a paw on his head, and without moving the level of it, swung it over to hit near the top of Judy's ears. She let her eyes open wide in realization, and then scowled in the same realization. Her ears fell, and Nick looked to her with a smirk, "Carrots, I think you're shrinking!" he said teasingly.

"Har, har!" she said sarcastically, "What was the dream about?"

"Samurai and dragons!" he said simply as he pulled out a pair of pilot sunglasses from his pocket and flicked them open. He quickly inspected them, and placed them on his face to rest on his muzzle.

"That's all I'm going to get out of you isn't it?" Judy asked.

"I'm sure you'll solve the case!" he said happily as he leaned into the chair. Judy simply frowned at the road, hopping that eventually she'd hit a red light, just so she could hit the brakes hard.

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to do that, they arrived at Precinct 1 within fifteen minutes, causing them to need to run into the door and get to the bullpen, all without grabbing Nick's oh so needed cup of coffee. "Sorry Ben, can't talk going to be late!" Judy called out as the two of them ran as quickly as they could. "You get to the bullpen, I'll clock us in!" she then called out, and Nick nodded, making a break for it. He knew she was faster than him, and would probably make it with only seconds to spare.

"I'll hold the door open for you!" he shouted back at her. He quickly made it to the bullpen, and grabbed the handle, nearly throwing the door open, and holding it there. He looked around, Bogo wasn't there yet, probably still in his office. "Hurry Carrots!" he whispered as he turned and saw Judy moving as quickly as she could. She dashed into the room, and Nick let go of the door, the two of them making it to their seat, just as Bogo's office door clicked, the door easily sliding open as the large cape buffalo walked out. 'Made it!' Nick thought to himself.

"Morning everyone!" the chief said, his usual focused look on his face. "Assignments are same as yesterday. McHorn, Francine, and Higgins. I want you in the Canal District. Wolford and Fangmeyer, Tundratown. Snarlof, Anderson, you're taking Trunkaby with you. And keep him out of trouble!" he said, looking down at the warthog. "Hopps, Wilde. I want you in Savana Central today! Let's see if you can find some action there!" Bogo looked up, seeing everyone still sitting, "Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked, and the animals all got up. Judy and Nick making their way at the back of the crowd. "Oh and by the way you two!" Bogo said, getting the two of them to stiffen up, and turn to him, "Try not to cut it so close next time!" he told them, and turned back to enter his office. Nick and Judy just looked up at each other, both with worry in their eyes.


	3. Something in the Darkness!

**Chapter 3 – Something in the Darkness!**

Nick was happy now, he had his coffee in his paws as Judy tried carefully not to jar the car and make him spill it, he was grumpy when he didn't get his caffeine, and even more so if he was wearing it. "Thanks for getting me my drink Carrots!" he said, "But I could have paid for it myself."

"Just count it as me being a friend!" she said. He knew, she was trying to fish out some more details about his dream, by making him feel obligated because of the coffee. He could see her scam.

"Not happening!" he said and downed the last of the hot beverage.

"Huh?" she asked.

"I used to be a hustler remember!" he told her, "I can smell a scam from a mile away!"

"You sure didn't smell it coming when I caught you the first time!" she told him, catching him cold, "Or the second time!"

"Ok, Ok!" he said as he held up his paws, the empty cup still held in one of them. "So you caught me off guard a few times, technically I was the one who dug my own hole! Just didn't think you'd have done your research!" He then turned to her with a smile, "Glad you did though. Otherwise I might not be where I am now!"

"And the two of us wouldn't be friends like we are now!" Judy told him.

'That's true!' Nick thought to himself, and reminded himself about their very first case. "Heh, those were better days huh?"

"You got that right!" she said, "This past week has been so boring!"

Nick looked out the window, ready to catch some bad guys. He even wished he could see Flash speeding by in his little red Camaro. Then, he saw something, "Hey Carrots!" he said and caught her attention, "How about we check out the new exhibit?"

Judy looked to where he had pointed his thumb, his dewclaw shoved in the direction of the old Natural History Museum. She remembered that place, or at least the areas they had ran through. The pit in the entrance was still one of her favorites, she kept imagining the look on Bellweather's face after Nick had revealed that she had hit him with a blueberry instead of her precious formula. "Aren't we supposed to be doing our rounds?" she asked.

"It's on rout!" Nick argued, "Besides, you never know! Maybe we'll catch a thief trying to steal it!"

"What is the new Exhibit anyway?" she asked.

"Don't know!" he exclaimed, "They said that it was so special that they couldn't tell even the press what it was!" Nick then let his smile fall, "Unfortunately the word 'Special' can mean expensive to some people!"

Judy nodded, "Ok, but just for a few minutes, and only to make sure someone's not trying anything!"

"Deal!" Nick told her.

Judy took the next exit, quickly finding the lot entrance of the museum, and parking in a spot.

"Dang!" Nick said as he looked around the lot, "It's busy here today!"

"I bet some of these cars are parked here because of that new Snarlbucks across the street!" Judy said as she watched a rather friendly looking family of llamas exit their vehicle and make their way to the crosswalk instead of the Museum.

"Eh, their loss!" Nick said, and watched as Judy's fist's trembled. "You're not on Parking detail anymore Carrots!" he told her.

"I know, but, it still gets to me!" she told him, "This parking lot specifically tells you that if you park here for some other reason except the museum, you are going to be towed. And yet, when they do get their car towed, they blame it on the towing company, or the cop that reported it!"

"Because no one wants to be wrong Carrots!" Nick said to her. Judy turned around, only because Nick turned her head for her, and found the two of them at the front door of the museum.

Nick opened the door for her, each of them carrying their ticket as they moved into the hallway. They looked up when they got to the inside gates, the two of them easily sliding their tickets into it, and with a ding, the gate opened for them. Judy sighed, and approached the pit. She remembered every detail, how genuinely scared she was, but also how much she trusted Nick in that moment. "You actually looked like you had gone savage." she said as Nick neared her.

"I'll take that as a testament to my acting skills!" he said, and Judy laughed.

"I honestly never would have solved it without you!" she said, and turned to him.

Nick could see the twinkle in her eyes, and again he felt his chest warm up. "No problem Carrots!" he said smoothly, but he knew inside, he was a raging storm of emotions. Somehow, every time she had that twinkle, it did this to him. He couldn't tell you why, but he always felt different when she did that, like he wanted to run and hide, yet always reach out and take her paw, just to keep her close.

Judy turned from him, a smile on her face again as she took a deep breath in, "Welp!" she said as she exhaled, "Let's go check on that exhibit!"

Nick smiled as she walked away, and suddenly, he found his eyes diverting to her cotton tail. It wiggled a little as she walked, and somehow, he found it cute. 'I'm never going to call her that!' he thought to himself, 'Everyone knows that other animals should never call a bunny cute! Just other rabbits.'

They couldn't help themselves, Judy and Nick had been laughing ever since they walked in. Nick telling some jokes about some of the exhibits that would get the bunny to laugh, and then Judy finding something else to joke about, asking what he would do if they were in the time period of the artifact. He'd always come up with something funny to say. When they turned the corner, Nick was in the middle of one of his jokes, "…and then once I had you pinned to the ground, I'd take that giant feather and tickle your lucky foot!" he said.

"No not my lucky foot!" she said in mock shock and horror.

"Oh yah, and then I'd…whoa!" he said, trailing off at the last when he looked in front of him. Judy followed his eyes, finding what he had been so distracted by.

There in the middle of the room, was a large piece of yellow crystal. Now by large, she meant it. It was easily larger than an elephant. "What is that?" she asked. In the middle, she could see what looked like shadows. Though that's all they were. Shadows of something bigger.

"How did they do it?" the two of them heard from behind them. They both turned around, seeing the curator, an old beaver with greying fur around his eyes and chin.

"I…" Judy treid to say and turned back to the shadows in the rock. It looked very strange, like something wearing a suit of samurai armor, while the creature in front looked more like a blob with sharp lines to try and make a shape.

"It is a samurai, and a bunny girl!" the curator said.

"I'm sorry, who…" Nick began.

"Oh, excuse me!' the old beaver said, "Where are my manners? I am professor Timberlin. Curator of this Museum."

"Oh so you own the place!" Nick said with his usual tired eyes and grin.

"Nick!" Judy said as she nearly elbowed him in the hip, "I'm sorry about him."

Timberlin simply chuckled, "No it's quite alright!" he said, "It's been years since someone's been so honest." When he was finished, he moved past them, "My associates want me to believe that the two were fighting!" he said, "Look closely! The samurai is either wearing a mask, or has the face of a wolf. And if you forget that the lines on the other one blur together, you can almost see the outline of a bunny!"

"Is he going to cut her head off?" Nick asked, "And how did they get a cave drawing like that into a large chunk of amber?"

"No one knows how they did it, but I believe the samurai was in fact protecting her!" Timberlin said.

"I'm sorry!" Judy said, "But how do you know it's a girl bunny?"

"Look closely!" the beaver told her, "If you follow the shape, you find the same kind of dress that girls wore back in those ancient times! I think the two of them were in love!"


	4. Is it Love?

**Chapter 4 – Is it Love?**

"In love?" Judy repeated.

"Yes!" Timbertin responded, "Quite simply like you two!"

Nick and Judy both stiffened up with his comment, and he let out a nostalgic chuckle, "Don't bother denying it! I can see it in your souls. The way you two trust each other completely, how you two can joke with each other so easily and appreciate every word. How you, Judy, just got embarrassed by his words just now!"

Judy blushed, letting the heat from her cheeks nearly glow through her grey fur. And again the Curator chuckled, "I've lived it for so long I can tell instantly." he said and turned to the exhibit, "Even if the two are nothing but painted shadows inside a large stone!"

Nick cleared his throat, hopping to ease Judy's embarrassment of the old beaver's words. "How exactly do you know that he's protecting her?" the fox asked.

"Look at the angle of his blade!" Timbertin said, getting the embarrassed Judy and the blushing Nick to turn their heads to the stone. "It's pointed flat, as if he was trying to take a swing at something in front of her. And even if you use the argument that he was simply trying to teach her a lesson, look again. The blade, if the swing were to continue, would pass a safe three inches above where her ears are at the moment."

"Rubbish!" the three of them heard from the other side of the stone. When the fourth member showed himself, he was what looked to be a badger. Old enough that the fur on his chin had grown long, almost down to his belly. The problem was, Judy couldn't find a grey hair anywhere on him. "The warrior is a predator! Back then Predators and Prey were always at war with each other."

"That's a pretty old way of thinking!" Judy said as she folded her arms. Nick could tell her anger was rising, her foot began tapping rapidly.

"Adrian, if only you'd look closer!" Timbertin said.

"I have looked close enough and I say that they're a depiction of a slaughter!" Adrian said in a huff, "Do not forget that bunnies were commonly beheaded for not participating in the war, there pacifism was not excepted by either side."

"It is also said that bunnies like her were more spiritually in tune with nature. This is why they preferred to stay separate from the fighting."

Nick and Judy moved closer to the stone, circling it to check it out more as the two employees bickered. It was incredible, the pictures on the inside weren't flat and two dimensional like they thought, but rather like the dummies you'd see in a clothing store window. Three dimensional, though she could still argue if the rabbit was female or not. She just couldn't see the face. "How did they do this?" Nick asked as he placed a paw to the gem.

"Don't know!" Judy replied and turned to lean her back and head against it, "But if this argument turns into a fight I'm busting out my cuffs!" Nick spied her smile, and turned back to the arguing old men.

"Besides, the warrior is too close to take her head off, he'd barely graze the top of her head with the hilt of his sword!" Timberlin said, and Adrian turned his head to the two cops.

"What are you doing!" he asked in a huff, "You're not supposed to touch the exhibits!"

"Oh! Sorry about that!" Nick said as he dropped his paw from the stone.

"We were just wondering how long it would take you to notice!" Judy added in, but with a little more innocence to her voice as she pushed herself from the crystal.

"Besides, you guys forgot to put up the barrier!" Nick then added to her comment.

"I take it you've been having a slow day?" Timberlin asked while Adrian snarled at them.

"What's his problem?" Nick asked.

"Adrian." Timberlin interjected as the badger opened his mouth to yell, "Go home! You're tired, and don't deny it! You've been up all night cataloging the new artifacts!"

Adrian simply growled, and then sighed, rubbing his eyes in a tired pain, "Fine!" he said, "But don't go around telling everyone about your theory. It hasn't been proven yet!" With that, he turned and tiredly left the building.

"I'm sorry about him, he's very passionate about his work." Timberlin said as he turned back to them.

"No, it's ok!" Judy said happily.

"It's the most action we've had all week!" Nick replied, and started moving towards the front door, "See yah, and don't forget about the barrier!"

"I won't!" Timberlin said with a smile, and turned towards another hallway, "Mark! The barrier! We need the barrier around the new exhibit!" and he walked away, no one noticing the strange circle and writing that appeared beneath the two shadows of the amber.

"Ho! Now I feel better!" Judy said as she walked back to the squad car.

"Same here!" Nick said in response, "I thought those two were going to throw some punches!"

Judy laughed, "That would have been a very short fight!" she said, and opened the door to her car. Suddenly, the ground shook, causing everyone to start shaking, and Judy to fall on her tail. "What was that?" she asked as the shaking stopped. "I didn't know Zootopia had Earthquakes!"

Suddenly, a window shattered from the museum. And out jumped a figure. "HEY!" Judy shouted as Nick found his feet again.

"This is Officer Wilde!" Nick called into his radio as the two climbed into the vehicle, "We got a 10-31, someone just broke out of the Natural History Museum! The suspect is carrying something in his arms. We are in pursuit!" Judy started up the engine, and hit the gas as hard as she could. Tires screeched on the ground as the left their spot, and roared down the lot to an open lane. Nick leaned forward and flipped the switch to light up the siren.

"Finally!" Judy said with a smile, "Some action!"

They quickly caught up with that person, and found him in what looked to be very rusted violet painted samurai armor. "Huh?" Nick asked, as he watched whatever it was run at a quick pace. "I can't imagine how far he can get with all that junk on him!"

"Let's at least get a look at the face!" Judy said.

"Sure thing partner!" Nick agreed, and gripped his chair as Judy hit the gas again, speeding up and pulling the vehicle in front of the strange person. She expected to see another animal, but instead she found a white mask, shaped in the fission of a grey wolf with rather large fangs sticking out of his mouth. "That's creepy!" Nick said, and lifted his dart gun.

"Ok! Paws up!" Judy said, and looked at what the 'samurai' was holding. She was in shock, it looked like Judy was in his arms, eyes closed and wrapped in a light blue woman's kimono with pink cherry blossom pedals floating across the bottom half.

Suddenly, he spoke from beneath the mask. The words completely foreign to them both. "Huh?" Nick asked as he turned to his partner and back to the criminal. The warrior crouched, Judy lining up the shot, and jumped. Nick and Judy both stopped in shock as he easily soared over their car, landed softly on his paws, and ran, ducking in and out of buildings as he lept over traffic, and lost them completely.

"How did he do that?" Judy asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Nick whispered in shock, "He's a black fox?"


	5. Looks Like Me!

**Chapter 5 – Looks Like Me!**

"A black fox?" Judy asked in surprise, "How in the world would you know that?"

"You didn't see his tail?" Nick asked, and Judy puffed out her cheeks, turning her eyes from him in her own disappointment, "Still, a black fox! Do you know how rare that is?"

"Still, we're going to have to report this to the chief." she told him, and they both quickly lifted their fists.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" they both chanted at the same time, Judy coming down with her entire paw unfurled and Nick with a tight fist.

"What?" Nick asked in shock.

"Paper covers rock!" Judy told him in a sing song voce. Nick simply let his ears flatten against his head. They had agreed a while back, only one round and late shows were counted as a forfeit.

"Come on. Let's at least go see what they stole!" Judy said, "That should make the Chief's day. Maybe it'll lead us to him."

"Good thinking!" Nick said, and reached for his radio again, "This is officer Nick Wilde, we lost the suspect. Returning to the scene to begin investigation."

"Did I just here you say you lost him?" they two of them heard Bogo say over the radio.

"Eheh, hi chief, how's it going?" Nick asked with nearly shot nerves.

"Not nearly as good as I'd like! I'm sending a second squad to assist you!" Bogo told them.

"Roger that!" Nick said defeated as the two of them made their way back to the museum.

"I don't understand it Carrots." Nick said as they walked around looking for anything out of place. "How could a guy the same size as me run so fast with all that heavy gear on?"

"Not really sure but it looks like he didn't take anything!" Judy said in response.

"Yah well the place looks a little worse for wear!" Nick commented as he looked around as well. The hallway had been smashed up a bit, however it looked more like innocent mammals had just been shoved into the exhibits.

"That makes sense." Judy told him, "It looked like he just kidnaped a bunny that looks exactly like me!"

"Judy!" she heard her partner say, and only now realized that she had stopped. He stood there at the turn, his ears down and his paw pointed down the hall.

'He only says my real name when he's scared of something.' She thought to herself and approached him. When she met up with him, he didn't turn to her, instead she saw the expression on his face. His lips turned down into a frown while his eyes showed shock, surprise and fear, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. So she turned her head, and saw it. The giant crystal amber with the trapped shadows, smashed to bits. "What the…?" she asked as she and Nick moved closer. "Stand back!" she said and held up her badge.

"We're with the ZPD. Everyone remain calm!" Nick followed up.

"YOU!" they heard a familiar voce call out. They both focused on the badger who had said it.

"I thought he went home!" Judy whispered to the fox.

"I did too!" Wilde responded.

The badger quickly made his way to them, waving his arms in their faces, "What now, come to damage more of our precious artifacts?"

"Sir did you see what happened?" Judy asked.

"You think I'm a fool?" Adrian asked in a huff.

"Hey we were in the parking lot when it happened!" Judy argued as the curator approached and Nick stealthily took his leave.

"Adrian, I thought I told you to go home and rest. Your blood pressure has to be through the roof!" the badger said.

Nick tuned out the conversation as he focused, a little trick that Judy taught him, mixed with a bit of his old life. He looked around, examining every shard of crystal, and snapping silent pictures with his phone. In his mind, he started putting the pieces back together, each piece fitting like a puzzle, showing him exactly what was missing. "Hey Carrots!" he called back, interrupting what looked to be a heated argument. "Notice anything missing from this picture?"

Judy turned to them, "Excuse me!" she said politely and hopped on over to her fox friend, "What's up?" she asked.

"I don't see a single shard of shadow here in this pile!" he told her.

She quickly looked around, spying exactly what he was talking about. "Um, why would they steal the shadows inside the crystal?" she asked.

"I know this might sound weird, but, what if they were the shadows in the crystal?" Nick asked in return.

Judy thought for a moment, and looked up. The base of the crystal was still intact, and up she jumped. "What are you doing?" she heard Adrian shout, until Judy pulled her knee pads off, and knelt down. Somehow, she was a perfect fit. Her knees together and her paws on her thighs, it was if she had been inside the crystal. "No way!" the badger said, and turned to spy what looked to be a jaguar and a lion, both in blue uniforms.

"Hello, I'm officer Grizzoli and this is Officer Joe!" the lion said as he gestured to the jaguar.

"JOE, GRIZZOLI!" they both heard Nick call out. They rounded the corner, only to see him and Judy, on top of the base of the shattered amber, "Get a picture of this!" he said, and placed his paws as if he were the samurai. The lion and jaguar both laughed, while taking out their phones.

"Dude! You need a sword in your paws!" Grizzoli said as their cameras flashed.

"You can photoshop it later can't you?" Nick said.

Judy chuckled, and turned, seeing both the shock and disbelief on the badger's face. She quirked an eyebrow, and was quickly tapped on the shoulder by her partner, "Hold still Carrots, I'm gonna put Timberlin's theory to the test!" he said.

"NOT WITH ME YOU'RE NOT!" she called out and turned to him.

"Relax I got nothing in my paws!" Nick said as he wiggled his fingers.

Judy sighed, and looked back down, only to find the Adrian had vanished.


	6. Is He Real?

**Chapter 6 – Is He Real?**

"I don't know how I let you talk me into this." Judy said as she groaned. She was kneeling down now, in the middle of the bullpen. Bogo having a smirk on his face as Nick held a stick in his paws. The tables had all been moved to the sides with the chairs all staked on top of them.

"Oh come on Carrots!" Nick said as he smirked, "Don't you trust me?"

"Not at the moment!" Judy said as she moved her eyes around the room. Every cop in the precinct had arrived for this, and on Bogo's desk, she could see a large bowl of cash. "This is so humiliating! And unprofessional!"

"Hey Wilde!" she heard Bogo say, "I got a good $20 riding on this so…don't miss!"

"I'll do my best sir!" Nick said with a two fingered salute, and reared back with the stick.

"Oh please don't hit me!" Judy whispered, "Please don't hit me!"

She could feel one of the other officers place something in top of her head, her ears folded down as tight as they could go. "In three!" she heard Bogo say, "Two!" She again began mumbling some kind of prayer. "One!" the chief said, and pointed to Nick. The fox swung the stick, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he zeroed in on the piece of origami on her head. A small tick could be heard and a whoosh, he had struck the paper off of her head without hitting her at all. "YES!" Bogo cheered as Judy sighed in relief. The other officers cheered, gasped and groaned all at once. "Well done Wilde!" Bogo told him, and scooped up the bowl of cash, "Now get to work!"

The officers all got to working, putting the bullpen back in order. Judy keeping her scowl on her face as she worked with Nick. "I hate you!" she said darkly.

"You know you love me!" he whispered to her. Judy didn't know why, but that very action with those words sent a shiver down her spine. Not one of being creeped out, but one of pleasure. It felt so right to have him whisper that into her ear. His breath tickling her fur as he brushed by.

"You owe me for this!" she said, mostly to cover up her blush.

"Ok, I'll give you more clues about my dream!" he retorted, "I was the samurai!"

Judy instantly lowered her ears, "That's not fair!" she said.

The moment the two of them got back to their desks, they saw something strange, a pile of papers stacked in the middle balancing on the wall that separated them. "What are these?" Nick asked as he picked them up.

"Tips!" the heard from behind them. Clawhouser stood there, his smile never fading from his face, "These tips came in after you said you'd lost that suspect at the museum. Figured you'd like to see them! Oh by the way, how'd he do?"

"You to?" Judy asked, only to have the large cheetah waiting for her answer. "He didn't touch a hair on my head!" she responded with distain.

"Yes!" Clawhouser said as he pumped his arm in the air, "I know he cared that much for you!"

"He also hit the origami!" Judy added.

"Oh!" Ben said in surprise, "So you trusted him that much did you? I'd say a little romance might be budding!"

"Strange metal man, on fifth. Armored person running through Little Rodentia?" Nick read off, "Crazy armored jaywalker in Rainforest District…how fast is this guy?"

"Pretty fast apparently!" Ben said, "This is the order they came in!"

When the overly large cheetah left, the blushing bunny and the fox once again found themselves looking to each other for answers. "Gotta be enhancements!" Nick said.

"Yah!" Judy agreed, "What's the time difference?"

"He was last seen in the Rainforest District about ten minutes ago! And on the outskirts three minutes before that!" Nick told her, "But he could be anywhere with the speed he can move!"

"I doubt it!" Judy said. "He's been moving constantly for about an hour and a half. He has to be tired! Maybe he found a hidden place to rest up!"

"Let's see, the last place he was seen was…" Nick began, "Jumping down to the ground from the overpass on Amazon Freeway!"

The two of them found themselves looking down to the ground floor of the jungle like biome, their police car parked on the spot the tip had said the warrior had last been seen. "Maybe you were right about him having enhancements!" Judy said as she tried to gauge how far down it was.

"Or he's better than we thought!" Nick said, "Come on, we'll try to get the car in close!"

"No lights!" Judy said.

"No sirens!" the fox added, and they climbed in the car.

The two of them scanned the dark area as Judy drove slowly through, scanning each tree and spying every hole an animal his size could fit. Nick sighed a bit, he had nearly given up hope. "How are we going to find him? It's not like he left us a clue!" he said, and suddenly the car stopped. He looked to her, and saw her wide surprised eyes.

"I think he actually did!" Judy said, and opened the door.

Nick followed, his dart gun out in his paws as he trailed behind the rabbit. She quickly pulled out a flashlight from her belt, clicked it on and shined it on the tree. Nick finally saw what Judy had seen, there was a long cut mark, fresh and deep, stopping about four feet from the ground, "What happened here?" Nick asked.

"I think he used his sword to slow his fall!" Judy told him.

"That works?" Nick asked.

"Well, I think so!" she responded. She turned her light, spying paw prints on the ground, "There!" she told her partner.

"Right!" Nick said, and focused on the prints and Judy turned off her light. "Hold my shirt so you don't get lost!"

"Is this it?" Judy asked, and Nick flinched.

"Carrots!" he said with a sly grin, "I didn't know you were a tail kind of girl!"

Judy flinched, "Sorry!" she said, and reached forward, grabbing fabric.

"That's my pocket!" he said.

"MOVE!" she whispered harshly.

His eyes focused, and shining in the dark, His superior Night vision showing him the paw prints clearly as he followed them with Judy Hopps holding onto him. When the prints stoped, he stopped, and tapped her nose. She was to stay there, just in case.

He rounded the cave, quietly moving to the other side, his gun up close to him, and he peeked inside. The little rabbit was lying there, breathing in and out gently, sleeping. He lowered his dart gun, and entered in, turning to the left and then the right. Seeing nothing, he took another step.


	7. Speak a Different Language!

**Chapter 7 – Speak a Different Language!**

Nick froze as he felt the cold bite of sharp steel rest against his neck, the edge touching his skin. He inhaled deeply as he realized that he had been caught. Again, he heard the voice of the warrior, and again, he couldn't understand the words. "Try speaking my language!" Nick said. This time tough, the words that came from the warrior's mouth were harsh, threatening. "Ok, ok!" he responded, "I get it!" and started to lift his paws.

"FREEZE!" he heard behind him, and with a smile on his face, watched the wall in front of him light up. The samurai pulled his arms up, taking the blade from Nick's neck, and shielding his eyes from the bright assault. Again he began talking in his language, this time though, it seemed like he was swearing.

Nick took the opportunity to move out of the three root cave, and siding next to his partner, "Thanks Carrots!" he said.

Judy took one quick look at him as if to say he was welcome. "NICK!" she said as she looked again, shining the light on his neck, "You're bleeding!"

"Must have been when he had that sword against my neck!" Nick said as he reached one of his paws back, and felt the small amount of blood. "Just a scratch!" he said and lifted his dart gun at the recovering warrior.

"Alright buddy!" Judy said, "Drop the weapon!"

The warrior didn't seem to acknowledge them, instead he rubbed his eyes through his mask, blinking away the light that dominated his vision. He then looked at them, with death in his eyes, and lifted his blade. His sword close to his cheek as he pointed the tip to the sky. "Just put the sword on the ground and come out with your paws up!" Nick ordered.

Again the warrior growled, and dug his feet into the dirt below him. "The second he twitches…" Judy said, though to Nick, she sounded a little angrier than before.

The three of them froze, the two cops waiting for the warrior to twitch, and the warrior, perhaps gauging his opponents. None of them really expected the bunny in the kimono to get between them, her back turned to Judy and Nick as she spoke to the warrior in his own language. She seemed…angry.

"Uh…" Nick said as he watched the seemingly defenseless bunny scare what should have been a fearless soldier. The warrior lowered his weapon, and at her command, sheathed it.

Then she turned to them, "I…am…sohy!" she said in broken English, and bowed to them, her head coming down to where her elbows were.

"You're not from around here are you?" Nick asked.

The bunny looked up, only slightly confused, "I…am…Ai Usagi!" she said introducing herself, "And…dis is…Gurē Kitsune!" She lifted her paw to the warrior, who seemed to be glaring at them from beneath his mask.

"You two know each other?" Nick asked, and Judy silently moved forward. "Carrots…" he began, and watched the warrior as he placed his paw on his sword again. Ai turned her head, and spoke his name, then in her own language, got him to let go of the handle.

Judy lowered her dart gun, eyes wide as she looked into the eyes of Ai. Like her own, they were violet. "You look exactly like me!" she whispered.

"My engolish…not so good!" Ai said in response.

Judy sighed, "Where are you from?" she asked slowly.

"Pandan!" Ai said.

"Pandan? Where is that?" Nick asked in response.

"What are you doing here?" Judy asked calmly.

It was then that Ai looked around, finding herself in the rain and the jungle. She turned to Gurē and seemed to ask something in her native tongue. Gurē looked around, and then shrugged his shoulders before saying something else. Ai looked back at Judy, "Is…dis…free world?" she asked.

"Free world?" Judy asked and turned to Nick.

"Don't look at me!" he said.

Suddenly Gurē spoke, catching Ai's attention, and she responded with surprise. She then turned back to Judy, "Is it true?" she asked.

"Is what true?" Judy asked.

Ai didn't answer, instead she thought, trying to figure out how to answer. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the wailing of sirens above them, "Yōkai!" she called out, and turned to run (As well as she could in her Kimono) to latch herself onto the back of Gurē.

"Wait!" Judy called out, "What does 'Yōkai' mean?" She never got her answer, Gurē made a mighty leap and disappeared into the thick foliage.

"We'll never find them now!" Nick said as he holstered his weapon.

"Nick?" Judy asked catching his attention, "What's going on? She seemed genuinely scared of the police sirens! Like they were going to harm her or something!"

"Dunno!" Nick responded, "But we can ask the curator about that Yōkai word. Maybe he can shed some light on what that means." He then turned his eyes to where the sirens were coming from, "Till then, we can gripe about how our followers just tipped off our suspect!"

"I wanna know about that 'Free World' thing as well." Judy told him, "Looks like tomorrow we're going back to the museum!"

They were interrupted when both of their stomachs growled, loudly. Each turning to the other with a slight blush. "Looks like we gotta stop for dinner first!" Nick said. "And this time, I get to choose!"

"You chose last time!" Judy said as the two began walking away.

The two of them laughed as they talked, even over dinner; homemade vegie sandwiches and fruit salad. Nick had insisted that she let him fix her something, seeing as his apartment was closer. He now had a bandage on the back of his neck to help his cut heal and a large blueberry in his paws as he talked, "I swear," he said, "It was like they guy was intentionally being stupid just to get under everyone's skin!" Nick had situated himself on one of the stools while Judy just sat on his chair, backwards.

"Well, I'd better get to my apartment if I want to get any sleep today." Judy said.

"No way you're making it this time. Nocturnal rush hour!" Nick told her.

"Well I can't stay here!" she said.

"And why not?" he replied.

"Where would I sleep?" she asked, "With you?"

They both froze at that comment, each blushing as they imagined what the rabbit had just said. Nick was the one who broke the awkward tension, by clearing his throat. "Or I could just take the couch and you could take the bed!" he suggested.

"Why can't I take the couch?" Judy asked, still embarrassed over what she had just said so casually.

"Chivalry!" Nick said.

"It's your apartment, it's your bed. I'll take the couch!" his rabbit friend said, and that was the end of that discussion.

"Ok!" Nick said as he lifted his paws and turned to his bedroom.

"But wait!" Judy said smoothly as she tried moving towards the door, "I can't wear my uniform to bed. I'd look terrible in the morning with it all wrinkled, and…" she never got to finish, instead she found one of Nick's casual shirts tossed onto her head.

"Problem solved, and in the morning just toss your uniform in the dryer for a few minutes!" he told her and moved to the bathroom, a fresh suit in tow as he set up his routine for the next day.

Judy blushed even deeper, "Oh joy!" she said nervously.


	8. A Dream Did That?

**Chapter 8 – A Dream Did That?**

It was strange, Judy didn't remember getting on a boat, yet there she was, sailing on a straight course towards a group of large islands. She could see trees, and flowers on the outside, but her heart seemed troubled. Things looked peaceful, but she knew. She turned around, seeing what looked like Nick sitting there. The red fox with his arms folded, his katana sheathed at his side, and his eyes closed, almost like he was thinking. "We're almost there!" she said, getting the fox to open his eyes again.

"Yah?" he asked, and looked behind the bunny, "Looks peaceful to me!"

"He's there!" Judy said as she narrowed her eyes, "I can sense him!"

Nick shook his head, and stood up in the boat, sliding his sword back into his belt. "If you say so!" he said, his dark green kimono fluttering in the wind. "I've never been here before!" he said after some thinking, "Why are the foxes from my island killing your people anyway?"

"So now you want to know?" she asked, "It's because we refuse to aid them with our power!"

"Power huh?" he asked, "The way I see it, the emperor is the one they should be killing!"

"How can you say that?" Judy asked in shock.

"After what he did to me?" Nick asked harshly as the bunny docked the boat. He hopped out quietly as she tied the boat up, "The man has no honor! He has betrayed our people, and now has ordered the slaughter of yours!"

"Our own vendettas are not as important as you think!" Judy said as she lifted herself up.

"Mine is all that matters to me!" he said. She knew that opening his heart for him would be difficult, but she knew it was the only way he would truly win.

He took one step, and sniffed the air, "Smell that?" he asked.

Judy sniffed the air with him, and nodded, "What is that?" she asked.

"GET OFF THE DOCK!" Nick yelled, and jumped, diving into the water. She wasn't fast enough, the moment her feet left the dock, it exploded, shattering into thousands of pieces and tossing her a good twelve feet into the bay. She sank, her dress constricting her movements, and her air quickly draining from her lungs.

Suddenly she woke, a dream that had taken her breath away, and somehow she couldn't get it back. She stumbled out of her covers, reaching to her throat as she tried desperately to return her breath to her lungs. Stumbling, she found her way to Nick's room, and pounded on the door hard. She quickly found her strength leaving, and slid to the floor. "What?" Nick asked from his room, and somehow, caught her choking sound. "Carrots!?" he asked, and moved from his bed. When he opened the door, he found her on the floor in front of it. "What the…?" he asked, and picked her up, grabbing her around the waist and locking his hands together. With a quick hard push, she coughed. Out came water from her lungs, and quite a bit of it. She felt as if she were heaving. More came up quickly, and she found that now, she could breathe.

Shaking, she turned onto her side, clutching Nick's hand tightly, "Judy?" he asked, and picked her up from the ground. She felt, cold to him, so he placed her, gasping for breath, into his bed, quickly covering her with his blankets. With a quick twist, he turned and grabbed his phone, pressing the only a few buttons, "Hey!" he called, "This is Officer Wilde! We just had a little issue at my place, I need you to send a paramedic!" He listened to the other end, "I found my partner outside my bedroom door, choking, strange thing is, she coughed up water!"

"I'm fine!" Judy tried to say, but her voice turned into a wheeze of air instead, and a loud violent cough.

"Look just get a paramedic here now, it should take you seven minutes with a siren." Nick said in near anger, "Yah I've got her breathing again! I'm a cop. They trained me how to do that!" Again he listened, and sighed, "Thank you!" he said and hung up. Quickly he returned to Judy's side, her coughing fit subsiding for now as her lungs calmed down. "Judy, what happened?" he asked.

"I thought it was just a dream!" she said, and gripped Nick's paw, "It was just a dream!" she said, and again slipped into unconsciousness.

The paramedics had arrived, taking Judy away on a stretcher, Nick watching helplessly as they insisted they take her to the hospital for monitoring. He wished he could see the looks on the doctors' faces when she started bossing them around. Instead, he had something else to do. As soon as the room had cleared out, he grabbed a shirt and his pants, quickly grabbing his police uniform, and exiting the room. He locked it, and began his trek.

In the Rainforest District, he stood there, right where he had seen the two they had met earlier disappear to. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" he yelled. "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! AI, GURĒ! COME OUT HERE AND TALK TO ME!"

He waited, staring angrily at the brush. It paid off, Ai poked her head out from the foliage. "What did you do to Judy?" he asked.

"Judy?" Ai repeated.

"Yah, Judy. Carrots, the bunny I was here with earlier!" he said.

Gurē, poked his masked face out, eyes narrowed into anger as he watched Nick.

"I…do not know…what you mean!" Ai said.

"Judy almost drowned a few hours ago while she was asleep. She said it was a dream! But I watched as she threw up water from her lungs! That's not what a dream does to you! Now what did you do?" Nick said to her.

Ai let her eyes open wide, and she placed her hand to her chin, then turned to Gurē, and spoke in his language. His own eyes opened wide with shock, and then narrowed in anger. He said only a few words, but one Nick could remember, Yōkai.

"What the hell is a Yōkai?" he asked harshly, getting Gurē to turn his head harshly to him.

"Yōkai, means evil spirit!" Ai told him.

"What?" Nick asked, "Like a demon?"

Ai pointed to him happily, "Yas, demon!" she told him.

"Those weren't Yōkai before!" Nick told them, "Those were police sirens. I work for the police!"

"Police?" Ai asked.

"Yah! We stop the bad guys! Uphold the law!" he told them.

Ai turned to Gurē, and in his language, told him what Nick had just told her. The black fox folded his arms, almost as if he were still believing it was demons. He then turned to the bunny, and said something in his own language. Ai nodded, "The only…other way…is…" she began and couldn't think of the word. She mimicked sparkles with her claws, and said, "Poof!"

"Poof?" Nick asked, "Like magic?"

Again, Ai pointed to him, and repeated his word. Slowly, she tried to sound out a single word, "Sor…sor…ror!"

"A sorcerer?" he asked, "Where?"

Ai hesitated, and looked to Gurē. "Don't look at him!" Nick said forcefully, "Judy's in danger now, and I'm here to save her! Where is the sorcerer?

Ai swallowed hard, unsure as her nerves began to get the better of her, and knelt down. Closing her eyes, and in her own language, said a prayer.

Nick was about to ask, but the black fox held up his paw, nodding to the red one. Suddenly, Nick watched as the sleeves of Ai's Kimono lifted up, as if a wind was coming from underneath her. She opened her eyes, and looked right into Nick's. When the glowing stopped, she fell, Gurē catching her before she could collapse. "Forro, de trail. The light will lead you to your evil!"

Nick nodded a little, and turned, seeing what looked like a shining spot in his vision. He then moved, walking towards the spot. "Well, if a little bunny can do this, why not a sorcerer?" he asked himself, and planted a paw to his face, "The things I do for you Carrots!"

Ai turned to the back fox at her side, saying something comforting, and then an order. Gurē looked up at the retreating fox, and then, back to her. With a pat on his paw, she smiled, and closed her eyes, falling asleep.


	9. I Found You!

**Chapter 9 – Found You!**

"I'm going nuts!" Nick said to himself as he sat on the bus. His uniform rolled up in his paws, a ticket in his pocket and the light shining in his eyes. He leaned back, and closed his eyes, resting for a minute. He had done this before, trying to see if the light was just something shining, or a light that had gotten stuck in his vision. It faded when the darkness came, only showing up when he had opened his lids, showing him the way. "I've got to be!" he said and rubbed his paws against his face, trying to rub the crazy from his mind, "I'm seeing a magic light, and I let my only lead escape because she pointed me to…Where am I going anyway?" he asked, and opened his eyes again, looking out the window. There, the light touching the door, was the museum. "Oh great!" He said and let his ears fall to his head, "I'm back where I started!"

The door was open, no guards around. This got Nick curious. There were always guards around. "Hello?" he said, his ears down and his eyes open, "Hello?" he called again, trying to catch someone off guard. With a leap, he vaulted over the gate that would have allowed him access. His night vision letting him navigated the halls without touching a thing. He stopped when he found the pit, the same one that he and Judy had been tossed into on the night of Bellweather's arrest. He looked down, almost expecting to be ambushed, "No, that would be too cliché!" he whispered to himself, and circled around it. The light in his eyes had died, vanishing from his vision the moment he had entered. It seemed like nothing would happen at all, "I swear if she did this just so they could…" he whispered to himself. He stopped because of something he heard, a chanting of some kind. "What the…?" he asked himself, and reached up, hanging his uniform on the nearest thing he could find, the antler of a buck shaped mannequin.

He creeped along, trying to keep the clicking of his nails quiet. The further he went the louder the chanting. He heard the voice coming from a room nearby. A room that confused him, because from what he could see, it was just an ancient door frame placed against a wall with what looked like stone doors painted behind it. "Well!" he whispered to himself, and placed his paws against the doors, "Everything else about this case has been odd! Why not?" He was about to push, trying to see if the doors were actually doors, when he felt something touch his shoulder. "DAH!" he hissed in a harsh whisper, and quickly turned around. The samurai, Gurē, stood there behind him, the shorter of the two swords held out, handle pointed at Nick. "Don't do that!" Nick said harshly. Gurē grunted, and pushed his hand forward, urging the red fox to take the blade. "No thanks buddy!" Nick said skeptically, "I already got…" He patted his hip, and around his waist as he eyes went wide. "Or more accurately," he said as he narrowed his eyes in disgust of himself, "I **for** got my dart gun!"

Gurē then urged Nick to take the blade again, this time with some soft words to go with them. "I have no idea what you just said!" Nick told the black fox, and reached out, taking the sword in his paws. Without a second thought, he turned again, and placed his paws on the doors. He pushed, and the doors didn't move. Gurē grunted, catching Nick's attention, and placed his own paws against one of the doors. "You wanna help?" Nick asked, and chuckled, "Alright, but if this is a trap, I'm haunting you!" Nick moved to the other door, placing his paws against it and turning to Gurē. "One!" he said, and the two of them looked to the door they were pushing, "Two!" he said, and they tensed up, "THREE!" he said, and at the same time, they pushed, the doors slowly sliding open. Nick could feel the wind rush in as the doors separated, and once they were open enough, the chanting stopped. Nick and Gurē both looked up, seeing the back of the head of a badger in a black robe adorned with jewels and gold along the hem. All around him, a giant ancient circle, and candles that had been blown out when the air rushed in.

"Well!" a familiar voice said in Nick's language, "This is unexpected!"

"Oh hey!" Nick said as the badger turned around, sliding on his legs so that his prayer position remained unchanged, "You're that badger from yesterday!"

Suddenly, Gurē erupted in anger, his paw clenching his sword handle tighter, and an inch of the blade exiting the scabbard.

"I'm surprised you remember!" the badger said.

"Well, us foxes do have incredible memories!" Nick said both with cockiness and focus.

"I wasn't talking to you, weakling!" the badger said, and turned his eyes back to the samurai. "What has it been? Eight hundred years?" he asked.

"Huh?" Nick asked, and tried putting two and two together.

"And you!" Adrian said and finally turned his eyes to Nick, "You surprised me! I thought for sure you'd have run off to be with that bunny of yours!"

Surprise encompassed his vision, and Nick asked, "Wait, you attacked Judy in her dream?"

"Oh no!" Adrian said, "You see, Judy wasn't dreaming! I took her soul and sent it to the past, a memory of what happened on a single fateful day."

"You nearly killed her!" Nick said, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"I know!" the badger said, and smiled, "Forcing someone to live the past, especially in the body of someone who died, can have that effect on you!"

Gurē then charged in, drawing his sword at the last second, the draw lighting fast as the badger stood, and lifted his staff to block, "The lightning draw!" Adrian said and continued to speak, but in the other fox's language. With a powerful twist, he slammed the large ball on the top of his staff into Gurē's chest, tossing him the other side of the room. "I have been training for this for centuries!" Adrian said, and spun his staff.

Nick ran to Gurē's side, reaching down to see if the black fox was alright, and helping him to his feet. The armor on his midsection, crumbled around the impact point, his green kimono showing through as the metal fell away, "Ok!" Nick said as he saw the metal crumble, "Don't let him hit you with the stick, got it!"

Gurē grunted again, and looked to Nick, with a silent nod, he then turned back to Adrian. Nik nodded back, he knew. It didn't take a genius to know what the other fox had in mind, and Nick stood at the ready. "Goode luck!" Gurē grunted out, as if that was the only English he knew.

"Oh so now you want to speak my language!" Nick said sarcastically, and drew the sword he had. With a push of his legs, Gurē raced on ahead, Nick slower than he was but still, not far to go right? Nick found that Gurē was very fast, his legs pushing him at incredible speeds so that his sword could collide with the staff of the badger. Nick had barely taken five steps before Gurē and Adrian started their dance of death.


	10. Is This Déjà Vu?

**Chapter 10 – Is This Déjà Vu?**

Nick left his eyes open, watching as the paramedics wheeled away a cot covered with a white cloth. He knew he had been here before, in his apartment, watching as they took someone away. A small grey paw slipped from under the cover and instantly he knew, he didn't save Judy. He stood still, until everyone cleared out. Bogo being that last to slowly walk out and offer his apologies. It was like a dream, his mind blank as he watched the door to his apartment shut for the final time that night. Why wasn't he able to save her? He had saved her before! He remembered her smile while she sat at his desk, a cup of carrot juice in her paw. Then he remembered again, her sitting on the couch, blushing and happy as the two of them watched a movie marathon together. 'Had that really happened?' he asked himself, 'They seem like dreams, and yet so real. I can still feel her lips against mine! Wait, we never kissed, did we?'

Suddenly, his mind reeled, both with knowledge and memory, pain shooting through his mind, "GRAAAAAAAAAAA!" he growled as he clutched his head, he remembered, Judy wasn't dead, she was in the hospital! But then she was next to him, then kissing him, and lastly walking out on him with a blush. He landed on his knees, his breath heavily while his fur quickly drenched with sweat, "What the hell?" he asked, and ran, forgetting his uniform.

He stopped, out of breath, at the spot where he knew Gurē and Ai had been just a few hours ago, Gurē standing there when he arrived, "What's going on?" he asked in a panic, "Judy just died, but I remember her alive, and I remember a bunch of other things, like they all happened at once!" His panic was calmed when he saw Ai, her fear getting her to hide behind Gurē, "What's going on?" he asked, worry in his voice and in his eyes.

"Time!" Gurē said.

"You, speak-eh Engolish?" Ai asked as she looked up at him.

"I have-a had much practice, in a life-eh-time spread out over a few seconds." the black fox said solemnly, and turned back to Nick, "Adrian is a time sorcerer. Dat-o much is clear! I do not know how he is resetting time, but we cannot keep fighting him, he has experienced our attacks many time!"

"Huh?" Nick asked.

"Adrian is turning-a back time, back to when you lost Judy. I do not know why. Perhaps to torment-e you!" Gurē said and hung his head, "We have-a tried again and again to defeat him. A few-eh times I was-a sure we had beaten him! You even ran him though with-a my katana! But even den, we come-e back to dis! And now he has taken Judy from you once again!"

"Why can I remember all of this?" Nick asked, "I even remember getting you to learn English!"

"We foxes, are very special. It is said, that the eyes of a fox, can see the truth for what it is." Gurē said, "Even in time, our minds see the memories we have-a made! Adrian has-a made a large-e mistake! So many experiences all the same."

Nick simply lowered his head, his paws making their way to his arms, trying to rid himself of the empty feeling creeping in, "You mean similar experiences from the same life time can be remembered?" he asked.

"It is rare dat so many experiences are so similar. Only by repeating the same-a ting over and over, can the mind truly remember dem. Dat is the way of bushido!" Gurē told him.

"But why me?" Nick asked, "Why is he picking on me? Judy's dead now! I'm not sure how much more of this I can take!"

"Judy has-e died many time!" the black fox said, catching Nick's attention, "And each time, you have raced in wit vengeance at-a your side!"

Nick sighed deeply, and placed his paws further up his arms, "I just don't know!" Nick said, "It feels like it just cut so deep!"

Gurē landed a paw on Nick's shoulder with such force, Nick winced, almost with a pain that was remembered from a different life time, "We face him again!" the black fox said, "And next-a time, you save Judy! Adrian is afraid-e of the two of you! But I tink he is most afraid of you!"

Nick looked at him, and Gurē lifted his sword, handing it to the red fox, "Next time, we remember! Next time, he fails!" Nick steeled his eyes, reaching a paw up and taking the shorter sword in his paw. Familiarity again, it fit so perfectly, and so naturally.

"Ok, but next time I get the big one!" Nick said, and Gurē laughed.

As soon as they stopped at the museum, Gurē let Nick slide off of his back. "He must be pretty sure of himself if he sent all of the guards home again!"

"He has control over time!" Gurē told him, "He is very sure of him-e self!"

"Yah, but next time is going to be different! I can feel it!' Nick said, and the two ran in, letting their own eyes guide them through the darkness as they skillfully made it to Adrian's door. "Ok, on three!" Nick said, and placed his paws against the door to his left. Gurē placed his paws against the right door, and grunted. "One, two, THREE!" he called out, and the two of them pushed again.

Again, the candles were blown out, and Adrian sat there, smiling, "Again?" he asked, "When will you two give it up?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Nick asked forcefully.

"Why, I'm turning back the clock!" Adrian said with a wicked smile, "And every time I do, I gather more and more souls to feed the dragon!"

Gurē let his eyes open wide, and spoke in his native tongue. "Oh please!" Adrian said and stood from his seating position, "Your friend deserves to know the truth before it's over!" He held up his staff. Now that Nick could get a better look at it, the ball wasn't a ball at all, rather it was light, wrapped up in two intricate bars of metal. The decoration's covered less than half of each side, a very thin slit down the middle while each of the other openings was either too twisted or too small to even fit a dart into. "I once tried to control an ancient dragon, one who's power would let me destroy anyone I found unworthy." the badger said, "A shame that the only way to summon and control him was to feed him an abundance of souls bound to Chi!" Gurē gasped in realization, "That's right samurai. Your little bunny girl is that last in a long while of animals who has the power to manipulate her Chi. She is bound to it's true power. So I've been forcing you two to go through thousands of events, destroying you at the end and feeding her soul to the dragon." As he spoke,the light in the top of his staff danced, almost as if it were alive, "Thousands of the same soul still works, and I'm so close! Just one more time and I can leave you all to your fate!"

"Not this time!" Nick shouted as he interrupted Gurē. His eyes shined with a fire that the samurai couldn't even begin to fathom, "You've killed Judy for that last time!"

Nick ran in, wakizashi at his side, anger in his veins as he reached Adrian. The badger grineed, "TOO SLOW!" he shouted, and spun his staff in the air. Instead of slamming it on Nick's head, he found his staff blocked by the edge of a Katana. "WHAT?" he asked, and felt the cold steel pierce him though the chest. He looked down, Nick's blade buried all the way to the hilt. "Damn!" Adrian said, and backed up. Nick instead pushed harder, giving a battle cry as he did. When Adrian found himself pinned against the wall, he swung his staff, barely missing Nick's ears as the fox backed up. The handle of the short blade sticking out of his bleeding chest. He lifted the staff again, the light expanding from it.

"Look into my eyes!" Nick said as he turned to Gurē.

"Eh?" the black fox asked.

"You said fox eyes can see the truth as it is! Then show me the truth!" Nick said. And his friend nodded, eyes locked in determination as the light enveloped them both.


	11. I Saved Her!

**Chapter 11 – I Saved Her!**

He saw the eyes, those piercing yellow eyes with a tinge of red in them. Somehow, forcing him to remember, forcing him to know. He shot up with a start, the eyes quickly leaving his vision, yet the memories stayed. Throwing off his blankets, he sprinted out of bed, simply in his paw printed boxers, and skid to a stop at the edge of the half wall that separated him and her, "Carrots!" he said as he saw Judy, her arms shaking from under her covers as she dreamed. "Wake up Carrots!" he said and ran to her. He bent over, gripping her shoulders gently in his paws, and shook her, "Carrots wake up!" She didn't respond. Instead it looked as if she was in deep. "Hopps!" he called and pinched her arm. She didn't move. "JUDY!" he called, and used his thumbs to open her eyes. He looked deep into her indigo orbs, his emerald ones gazing into hers with fear.

Inside Judy's dream, she was sinking, hurt and loosing breath, she sank, hearing a name. "JUDY!" it called out. Opening her eyes to the familiar sound, she saw them, those emerald eyes. His emerald eyes. They always showed truth behind them. She trusted them entirely. She knew them. She reached for them. The water around her vanished, fading into blackness, and then he was there. Nick Wilde. She knew him, he had been there in her dreams, he had haunted her mind for the past few months. Her heart once again fluttered at his presence, yet she was reluctant to show it, "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Judy, you have to wake up! You have to come back to me!" he said, panic in his voice.

"I don't understa…" she began, and he interrupted her.

"I can't lose you again, I just can't!" he told her. She could feel something hit her cheek, so she patted it. It was wet, a tear, but not her own. "You have to wake up! Wake up!" he said those tears hitting Judy's face as he glanced into her eyes. "WAKE UP!" he nearly shouted.

Judy gasped, almost as if she hadn't been breathing, and shot straight up to cough. Nick moved to the side of her, patting her chest to help her lungs work, happy that she wasn't coughing up sea water like the first time. "Nick?" she asked, and turned to him, "What's goiiIIII…Sweet Cheese and Crackers, Nick, put some cloths on!"

He ignored her, instead he wrapped her in a well-earned embrace, his tears flowing like a waterfall as he happily hugged his bunny partner. "Uh…" she said, her blush dominant on her features and confusion in her mind.

"Oh, it worked." he said, "Thank god it worked."

"Ooookay!" she said as she patted him on the back, "What's with the nearly naked hug?"

Again he tightened his grip. "You're alive, and you're ok." he said, then pulled her to look into his eyes, "The 'Fox Eyes' worked, they pulled you out of that spell!"

"Spell?" she asked, "What spell?"

"I'll tell you on the way!" he said, and raced to his bathroom. Judy didn't even hear the shower go on before he quickly emerged from said room, in his police uniform. Hers in his paws, he looked to her, "Suit up." he said calmly, "It's going to be a long night."

"What's going to be a long night Nick?" she asked as she pulled on her leggings, and then her pants, "What's going on?"

"Paranormal activity." he said.

"Oh, so we're ghost police now?" she asked as she pulled on her shirt and buttoned it, almost angry that he had woken her up.

Nick pointed at her, his one claw extended as his playful grin came back, full swing, "Not that kind of paranormal!" he said and turned back to grab her keys from the kitchen table. "You drive, I'll GPS!" Just as Judy finished putting her badge on her vest, she reached up and caught her keys as they flew from Nick's paw to her own, a very accurate throw.

"Why?" she asked as she slipped on her belt, "Where are we going?"

"To pick up some friends first!" was all he said.

Judy looked around the jungle as he car crept forward the little green coupe blending in with the atmosphere so perfectly. "Who in Zootopia could you want to meet out here?" she asked, and stopped when a set of violet plates fashioned into armor and a large white wolf mask covering its owner appeared.

"Gurē, buddy!" Nick said as he stuck his head out the window, "I told you never to stand in the middle of the road. Just because this is a road less traveled by regular animals doesn't mean you can be careless."

Ai came out from behind him, her shy face betraying her feelings and showing them to the world. "Get in the car!" Nick said, and pointed in the back.

Ai turned to Gurē, and said something in Ancient Pandanese. He shrugged, looking like he had never seen them before. "Nice try!" Nick said, getting Gurē to look up at him.

Nick stared hard, Gurē's yellow eyes shining in the dark, and quickly opening wide, "Nick-o-san?" he asked.

"Yup! Finally remembered huh?" Nick asked.

"So, the Fokkusu no me, actually works?" the black fox asked as his mind finally caught up with him.

Judy looked at Nick, who looked back at her, "Gotta be 'fox eyes'." he told her with a shrug. Then turned back to them, "Hop in!" he said, and turned his teasing eyes to Judy. Her disapproving glare told him that she didn't exactly appreciate that joke.

"We are not getting in that!" Gurē said, just before Ai squealed with joy. His wide eyes turned to her as she ran (as best she could) to the car, and gripped Judy's open window.

"What is dis device?" she asked as she leaned in and looked at the different pedals and levers. Everything in the car both confused her and excited her.

"Looks like your little bunny has made your decision for you." Nick said to the black fox. Gurē let his shoulders and his eyes fall, a grumble in his native language escaped his lips as he trudged on and tried to make sense of what he saw. "Grab the handle and pull up and toward you gently." Nick told him. Ai jumped down from the window, and reached for the door nearest her, gripping it firmly and doing exactly what the red fox had instructed. It easily swung open, and she climbed in, straightening her kimono as she sat down. Gurē pulled his swords from his belt as Ai inspected what she could of the vehicle, and opened his door with just as much ease, but three times the hesitation. "Ok!" Nick said, "Better buckle up!" As he spoke, he pointed to the seat belt at Ai's shoulder. "Take this." he said and moved his paw down to the buckle, "Put it in here until it clicks!"

Ai did as he told her, but Gurē just folded his arms, his swords at his side, "I-a have wridden in a carrage before!" he said.

"You speekeh Engolish?" she finally asked, and Nick let the déjà vu settle in.

"Not with Carrots driving you haven't!" he said, and turned to nod at the sly look on his partner's face. With a simple nod of his head, Judy put the car in reverse and slammed her foot against the gas pedal. "Weeee!" Ai shouted in glee as she lurched forward. Gurē on the other hand, fell to the floor with a "Yah!" and a thud. Judy stopped, spinning around where she could before she entered heavy traffic.

"Where to?" she asked Nick as he grinned at her. Behind them, Gurē lifted himself up back to his seat and pulled his seat belt across like he had been shown, his amber eyes now shining with fear.

"The museum." Nick told her, "We'll have to park a few blocks away. I have a feeling our resident time wizard is a little stressed right now!"

"You going to tell me what this is about?" Judy asked as she straightened her car.

"Yah actually." he told her, "It has a lot to do with my dream!" His eyes turned to her, mischief in them, "Wanna hear it?"


	12. Dream or Memory?

**Chapter 12 – Dream or Memory?**

"Ok!" Judy said as she left her eyes half open, thought they were focused on the road, she still wanted to look Nick in the eyes and ask if he was telling the truth, "So, Adrian, the grumpy badger from the museum, is actually a time wizard that is turning back the clock so that he can collect Ai's soul a bunch of times so he can feed it to a giant dragon."

"Yup!" Nick said. His eyes also half open, he could tell that Judy wasn't really buying into his story. 'Figures. The one time a crazy story is true, she doesn't believe it! Though I guess, I'd have a hard time buying it to if I hadn't been there myself.' His mind told him.

"But in order to do that he has to get rid of me, you and scardy fox back there!" she said, adding more information to her story.

Nick stole a glance to the back seat, Ai had turned on her seat, sitting on her legs as she brought them up to her seat, her cheerful smile faced towards the lights of other cars as they passed by. She marveled at how many different kinds she could see, and even gawked as the large semi-trucks that passed her by. Gurē on the other hand, eyes wide open, held tight to his seatbelt, almost as if it were a life line. Nick knew he was trying to be prepared for when Judy hit the brakes hard again. He was uncomfortable with moving as quickly as he was without running.

"He's just out of his element!" Nick said, trying to excuse the other fox's fear, "Ai, you're not supposed to sit like that, please sit down on your seat!"

Ai turned to him, a pout on her face, but she still obeyed. "Starting to feel like their father!" he mumbled.

Judy chuckled a silently, "Ok so let's say I buy this story!" she said.

"Is not story!" Gurē said as he tightened his grip on his seat belt, "Is memory! My memory!"

"Right!" Judy said, "And I'm Mrs. Wilde!"

Nick let his eyes open wide, he had never thought she'd say that, and he didn't really understand why it hurt the way it did. "Why would he have to just stop at when he sent me that dream spell? Why not just go all the way back to when all those souls were alive and just use them?" she asked.

Nick shrugged, "I dunno!" he said, "Maybe he can't go back that far."

"He already used them!" Gurē said.

"So? He already used Ai! Several times!" Judy argued.

"You do not believe?" Gurē asked. Judy simply chuckled. The black fox looked down, thinking. "What if I-a knew your dream?" he asked, "The one dat almost killed-e you!"

Judy scoffed, "All you know is that I was drowning in water!" she said.

"You were on a boat! The one rowing!" he told her, his eyes lowering in both sadness and regret. Judy let her eyes open, "You and the fox samurai, in-a green kimono. You two talked, challenged each other!" Judy lifted her eyes, looking at him through the rear view mirror, "But, when-a you got to the dock, he smelled-e something you could not. Den, he jumped. But-a you were too slow. The dock was destroyed, and you were thrown into the ocean, drowning from injury and weight as your kimono soaked up the water and pulled-e you down!"

Judy slammed on the breaks, her eyes open wide as she listened to him. He had accurately accounted for her entire dream. Gurē once again swore in Pandanese, getting Ai to turn to him in shock and disgust and scold him in the same language. "You're lucky we just hit a red light!" Nick said to her.

"But…how?" she asked, and watched the light turn green.

Once they started moving, Gurē responded, "Dat was Ai's sister." he said. "I was unable to save-a her. I was far too eager to rush in, and it cost me the life of an innocent animal."

Ai leaned over, placing her paw on his, comforting him. "Do not worry!" she said and turned back, looking through the window. "At least her soul was not given to dat monster!"

Nick turned back to Judy, though her eyes were on the road, they were wide with surprise, "Believe me now Carrots?" he asked cockily. Judy simply nodded.

"Wow!" Judy said as she peered from behind the bushes. The grounds were swarming with guards now, from timber wolves to rhinos and a few tigers. "You weren't kidding; this is way too many guards for a normal night of guarding a locked museum."'

"I'm surprised they haven't seen us yet!" Nick told her, and again watched the tight patrol, "I just don't see an opening! Even if we start a howl the other guards will know something's up."

"Maybe we have to be the opening this time!" Judy said, and turned around to the others, "Ok. Here's the plan…"

"…I'm telling you Nick, it isn't a coincidence!" the guards heard from the front gates. At first they all stood guard, but when Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps came around the corner, they all relaxed, and some even walked up to greet them.

"OK." Nick replied, "Then you explain the whole 'samurai kidnapping a bunny thing' to me!"

Judy hesitated a moment, "Fetish?" she asked with a shrug.

"Fetish?" Nick asked as if in shock, "Oh please, I think he's a time trapped warrior who's looking for his soul mate!"

Judy laughed out loud, "Nick, we are in real life!" she said, "Not comic book world where that sort of thing exists!"

"Hey Nick, Judy!" the two of them heard. They turned their heads, finding a group of animals being led by a single brown wolf.

"Hey, Lenny!" Nick said as he pumped his paws in front of him. "Just the wolf we wanted to see!" The two of them proceeded to grab paws, and quickly moved into a very strange and lengthy paw shake.

"Males!" Judy said in exasperation.

"Don't I know it!" Judy heard as a grey female wolf came to stand beside her.

"Been a while, what you two doin here?" Lenny asked as soon as they stopped laughing about the absurdity of the paw shake.

"Aw, just following a lead." Nick said.

"Oh, you still on that samurai kidnapping?" the female wolf asked.

"Yah!" Judy said and then quirked her eye brow at the wolf.

"Tabatha!" the wolf told her.

"Judy!" she introduced, and the two shook paws, normally.

"Can we go in?" Nick asked.

"Sorry." Lenny said, "Boss said no one in, no one out!"

"Lenny!" Tabatha quickly said, "They're ZPD!"

"Yah, and I'm the one with his neck on the line!" the brown wolf said.

"I don't wanna get you in trouble buddy!" Nick said and placed his paws into his pockets, "Just wish we knew what this guy was doing with those poor rabbit girls!" Lenny looked down at his toes, thinking about Nick's words, "That poor girl!" Nick then added, "All alone with a stranger she barely knows. And the guy has those swords as well!"

"It's too bad!" Judy added in. "And we were so close!"

"Says you!" Nick chimed in.

"Hey, I'm pretty good at this detective game!" Judy said in response, "I'm almost certain taking a look at that crystal again would have led us to him!"

"Ok! Ok!" Lenny said and lowered his paws in defeat, "You two can go in!"

"Thanks buddy!" Nick said as he wildly shook the wolf's paw, "We promise to put in a good word for you!"

The entire crew walked away, the two wolves staying back as Nick and Judy were escorted by the rest of the guard to the building. Judy lifted one of her ears as she heard someone speak, "I knew you were a big softy!" she heard Tabatha say.

"Yah, well, I sort of imagined you in that situation!" Lenny responded softly.

"So in your mind you're rescuing me?" the girl wolf said.

Lenny hesitated, almost thinking it over, "Yah, I guess I was!" he said. Then Judy could hear them kiss. In her mind, she couldn't help but imagine her and Nick kissing like that, and she quickly began to blush, but for some reason, the image woudn't disappear from her mind.


	13. Fight to the Finish

**Chapter 13 – Fight to the Finish!**

"Thanks guys!" Nick said as the two of them entered in, "We shouldn't be too long!" He then leaned forward to one of the rhinos, "Assuming Carrots doesn't find anything else!"

"I can hear you, you know!" Judy said indignantly.

"Just saying, if we take too long they'll probably send in a rescue party!" Nick told her as he walked up to her.

"It's not my fault these things present themselves the way they do!" she told him.

"So yah!" Nick said and then turned to the group again, "We're going to take longer than advertised!"

The two closed the door behind them, the group excitedly turning to each other as the chatted about what just happened. Nick and Judy then quietly opened the door, waving the samurai and the priestess into the building quickly. No one saw them enter.

"Do you think he'll be expecting us?" Nick asked as the four of them walked down the hall.

"I suppose!" Gurē responded.

"But wouldn't his memory be affected as well?" Judy asked, only to have Ai shake her head.

"The mind of the spellcaster remains unaffected by the spell." she said, "No one knows why."

"Great!" was all Judy said as she slouched her shoulders.

"Ah!" Nick said suddenly, "Here it is!"

"Nick-o-san!" Gurē said, and tossed Nick the Wakizashi when he turned to him, "Hey!" the red fox exclaimed in a hushed voice, "I said I get the big one!"

"You are not ready for the katana!" Gurē whispered back, "The wakizashi is your weapon!"

"Stingy!" Nick said to him, and placed the short sword onto his belt.

Judy lifted her head and turned the corner to see what they were looking at. "That's it?" she asked as she spied the painting on the wall. The ornate decoration surrounding the colorful door, "This paining is supposed to be your door? Nick, I think we need to have a long talk when we get…" Judy 's ears dropped and she was quickly silenced in her words when Nick and Gurē began to push the paining open, as if it were a real door. "…home." she finished as she watched the stone move as if it were real. Ai stood next to Gurē as he pushed, smiling happily, until she heard a sound. Judy, now that she was calm, heard it to, a high whistle noise, one that had a menacing chuckle behind it. "MOVE!" she shouted as she ran as quickly as she could. Ai grabbed the samurai almost the same time Judy grabbed Nick, the two bunnies pulling the foxes down to the ground easily in their adrenalin induced power. The door did something strange, it closed, and then, swung open the other way, Nick, Judy, Ai and Gurē ducking behind the large doors as a light shined through, disintegrating the far wall.

"Whoa!" Nick said as he looked to the damage, "He's getting desperate!" Judy sat there with her eyes wide, shock staring at the decimated wall. "Come on Carrots!" he said as he shook her shoulders, snapping her out of her confusion and surprise, "We got a wizard to stop!"

The four of them entered the room, Nick and Gurē with angry glares on their faces, and Ai hiding behind her samurai. Judy on the other hand, had turned to examine the decimated wall again, only to turn around, and see Adrian standing there, his ornate staff pointed at them, the top smoking as if it had been fired like a gun, "Cleaver!" the badger said in a growl, "The bunnies can hear my attack while the foxes can see the truth! I'm surprised Gurē, it's not like you to take your wife into battle like this!"

"WIFE?" Judy and Nick both asked in shock.

"Do not be distracted by his words!" the black fox said, "Besides, we were trying to come to dis land to live in peace."

"He's right Carrots." Nick said and turned to the badger, his paw on the handle of the wakizashi, "Besides, I've seen mix matched couples like them before." With a smile on his face, he drew the sword, then watched as Gurē gripped his katana, "Dah!" he groaned, "Still want the sword."

"You must earn it!" he heard Gurē say, and the black fox rushed in. Nearly disappearing from Judy's sight as he closed the gap quickly. He drew his sword at the last second, the metal a simple blur to the doe as it slammed into the staff.

"That's our que!" Nick said, and rushed in as well. Judy followed close behind, watching Nick circle around to attack from the back. Nick was much easier to follow than Gurē, so she kept close. Nick swung the wakizashi, not as smoothly as its owner, but it was effective. Adrian lifted the back of his staff, blocking the shorter sword, and pointing the bulbous top at the samurai with a smile.

Judy jumped, her powerful legs letting her easily clear Nick's head as she swung her outside foot, and with a cry, kicked Adrian in the face, hard. The badger fell to the ground, sliding a few feet before skidding to a stop. Judy fell, landing on her feet in between the two foxes, crouching down to relieve her legs of any shock the landing would have given them. She smirked at him, rising to her full height with her ears as tall as they could get.

Adrian looked at her and growled, his cheek throbbing with pain from the impact. "You can't beat all three of us!" Judy said with a confidence that threatened to crush his pride.

The badger stood slowly, his face darkening as he glared back at her, "You have yet to see my power rabbit." he said darkly, "And you have the nerve to think any amount of you stand a chance?" He lifted his staff high above his head, the top orb glowing with its white light, "I will erase you from existences!" He forcefully brought his staff down, pointing it at her before letting the light from its tip sail towards her.

Nick instinctively placed himself in front of her, trying to shield her from the blast. The pain he expected never came, instead after the light faded, he turned, seeing Gurē standing there, his back turned to them and his arms spread. His katana still held firmly in his paws. "Gurē?" Nick asked, and watched as the fox fell to his knees, burying the tip of his sword into the ground for balance. Nick and Judy both quickly moved to him, Ai not far behind.

When they turned to look at him, they could finally see him, his mask shattered and the front of his armor crumbling. His face was the same as Nick's, but his fur was black, so black Judy thought it would swallow the sun's rays. The only light that would have been seen, could be the small white speckles scattered about like stars in the canvas of night. He grunted against his own weight as he tried to keep himself up. The only answer they got to their unasked question, was one of his paws rising to silence them. Then Gurē's deviled yellow eyes opened, anger shown on them, "I-a won't let-a you win Adrian." he said darkly, "We finish dis now!"


	14. What Have You Done?

**Chapter 14 – You Know Me?**

"So your armor protected you." Adrian said as he lowered his staff, "Obviously forged by the monk Jikan Yuki." Then with a grin, the badger continued, "Never was there a greater fool! The snow monkey had no idea what kind of power he was actually tapping into!" Gurē gripped his katana herder, and lifted it up, pointing the blade at his enemy, "Oh, did I hit a nerve?"

"Do not talk about master Jikan like that!" the black fox growled.

"Master?" Adrian asked in a surprised glee, "I knew he had an apprentice, but you?" Adrian reacted quickly, lifting his staff to block the speeding warrior's sword, "As much fun as I had killing your master, I'm sure killing you will go much quicker!"

Gurē jumped back as Adrian swung his staff at his head, and again dashed in, slamming his blade against the handle of his enemy's weapon, "Convincing the Emperor that you were too dangerous to keep in his army was also easy!" the badger said, and Gurē let out an almost wild growl that resonated from deep in his throat. Adrian then lifted his staff again, blocking the unseen attack from Nick at his back.

"Wait, so you set him up?" Judy asked as she jumped over Nick again. Adrian spun around, pushing the two with swords to the side, and slamming his staff into Judy's stomach. With a heave, he tossed her over him, slamming into Gurē.

"Absolutely!" he called out with glee as Nick and him locked weapons, "His style, the Eien No Ejji or Eternal Edge style, is said to be passed down from the gods, and is supposed to be one of the most dangerous styles out there." As he spoke, he shoved Nick aside to once again be locked in combat with Gurē, his strikes making his bade into a blur as he struck several times in the same second, each one blocked by the magician's staff, "A style that when mastered, can force your opponents to tire as quickly as their confidence falls. Constant strikes at near lightning speeds as soon as the sword is drawn." He blocked again, shoving the end of his staff into Gurē's chest, and spinning back to strike Judy out of the air as she tried to land a punch. "It has one minor flaw!" the badger said as the three warriors stood back up and tried to reset, "The draw is the fastest attack you have, and it is thought dishonorable for an animal of your style to retreat his blade back to the sheath during combat." Nick and Judy turned their attention back to the black fox, his breath deep as he tried to catch his strength again, "Also if your opponent can last through your attacks, you are the one to tire instead. I have spent centuries perfecting my own techniques to counter all of yours. This battle is mine!"

"We've beaten you before!" Nick shouted, causing the badger's smile to falter, "I remember, a strike to the chest, a stab to the arm. Each of them clear as day. Yet every time it seems like we're going to win, you lift that stupid staff and reset time!" Suddenly Nick's eyes went wide, almost as if he had figured something out.

"If that's the case, then even if we beat him now, he'll just reset time again and we'll have to keep trying, but he'll know all of our moves!" Judy said, and turned to Nick.

"The staff!" he said, and turned to Judy, only catching an angry Adrian aim his staff at the bunny out of the corner of his eye. Nick quickly tackled Judy to the ground, the blast from the scepter barely singing the fur on the tip of his tail. "It's the staff that's resetting time, not him!" he whispered to his partner.

"Huh?" Judy asked as once again Nick jumped up with her in his arms, to dodge another blast.

"Each time he reset's time, he has to raise the staff into the air." he told her, "So if we destroy the staff…"

"…we stop the cycle of this battle!" she said as she dropped to his side, running with him as she did. She quickly stopped, turned and drew her dart gun. With a quick aim, she pulled the trigger, and let the dart fly. It hit the staff head, and vanished in a burst of black smoke. With a quick jump backwards, she dodged another blast. "What happened?" she asked, "I hit it!"

"Course it wouldn't be that easy!" Nick said mostly to himself. The blast's stopped as the two of them watched Gurē.

"Come Gurē." Adrian said, "Is this mediocre fighting style really the best you can do? What would Banni say?"

Suddenly it was like Gurē snapped, his eyes going wide with anger, almost turning red with fury as he quickly sped up, the blade moving as if it were a breeze of wind, "That's right." Adrian said as he also sped up, "Show me the power of your Eien No Ejji!"

Gurē pulled his sword back, and with lightning fast strikes, stabbed at multiple parts of Adrian's body, suddenly, Adrian flinched at the last strike, moving the staff head away and letting the blade strike him in the shoulder, "Eien No Ejji style; Kuja No Kiba!" he said softly as Adrian grabbed his shoulder in pain.

"How come he moved the staff away like that?" Judy asked as she turned to Nick.

"Fangs of the Nine Serpents!" Adrian said as he translated the words, "Aptly named. Nine strikes at different parts of the body, stabbed at speeds nearly impossible to defend against."

"You're right Carrots!" Nick said, "He could have defended against that last strike if he wanted to, unless…" Nick thought a moment, replaying the scene over in his head, "…the metal!"

"It's like a shield!" Judy said, "The reason the dart disintegrated like that was because it hit metal instead of the center!" Nick nodded in agreement. "I'm trusting you with this!" she said, catching Nick's attention.

"Huh?" he asked, and watched as she dashed in, Adrian's focus solely on Gurē, until she got close, and kicked him in the chin. She pulled out a dart, and locked in into her gun before dashing to the side as the staff head came crashing down. She then turned again, pointed and pulled the trigger. She thought she was going to hit it, but instead Adrian spun his staff, letting the dart graze his shoulder.

"GERRR!" he growled and spun around, his staff spinning around as if it were a fan blade. Judy jumped back, landing on her hands as she vaulted again and reloaded the dart. The staff kept spinning as he turned, deflecting Nick's and Gurē's attacks. He lifted his staff at the same time Judy lifted her gun, and when he slammed it on the ground, the shock wave pushed them all back, the two foxes hitting the wall and dropping their swords as Judy slid into the middle of the room, her dart gun flying to the back of the space. She lifted herself up, and heard Ai shout something in pandanese. She was surprised when Adrian flew over her, his back smoldering from whatever the other bunny had done.

Judy felt her muscles lock, it felt like something was holding her down, and when she looked up, she found herself surrounded by golden energy, seeping from Adrian's staff. "You will be the first to be erased!" he said, and walked up to her.

"Judy?" Nick asked, and looked up. His eyes widened as he watched Adrian grab Judy by the back of her vest.

"Sit up!" the badger said, "I want to see your eyes when you vanish from existence!" he then crouched slightly, both arms stretched out to their full length, his staff pointed at her, the bulbous head glowing brightly.

"NO!" Nick shouted, and bolted up, grabbing the first sword he could find, Gurē's katana.


	15. The End of Everything

**Chapter 15 – The End of Everything!**

Nick ran, ran faster than he ever thought possible, the wind rushed by him as if he were in a car with no top that was moving far too fast to be legal. Adrian didn't even respond. Instead, he chuckled at the rabbit as he aimed his staff at the top of her head, "Goodbye Judy Hopps!" he said with a grin, and looked up in horror and surprise when the red fox just seemed to appear out of nowhere, katana at the ready.

Judy, her ears already down, stayed perfectly still. A smile on her face as Nick's sword passed over her, the metal of the blade passing only centimeters above her fur. It moved fast, the whoosh of the blade only broken by the sound of whatever was in the head of the staff shattering. She had seen the blade of the sword pass through it, the metal of the sword barely touching the metal of the staff head as it slid perfectly between the two halves. It exploded with light, the golden energy pushing both Nick and Judy back to the rest of them, before surrounding Ai.

"Aahhhhhhhh!" the grey doe screamed as the energy faded into her. Gurē caught her as she fainted.

"YOU FOOLS!" the three of them heard Adrian shout, "YOU'VE DESTROYED THE CHRONO STONE! With it gone, this space will leak into your world and draw everything into it, before collapsing in on itself!" The badger then thought, "At least I get to watch you die with me." he said, and sat down in the middle of the room.

Nick, Judy and Gurē stood quickly, an unconscious Ai in the arms of the black fox, each with worried looks on their faces. "What do we do?" Nick asked as he turned to the samurai.

"He can't help you." the badger said, "It would have been limited to just us had those doors been opened from the outside."

"How do you mean?" Judy asked in a hurry as the room began to shake.

"The doors would have shut themselves instead of let everything escape!" her enemy said, and grinned when she reached behind herself to grab a pair of cuffs.

The room began to shake harder as she tried to walk towards him, determined to arrest him, for what she would have to think of later, "So does that mean if we close the doors we can cut it off at the source?" she heard Nick ask.

"I doubt you could accomplish that with how far wide I blasted those doors open." Adrian said, and grinned, "Revenge can be sweet!"

Nick growled at the badger as he stood up, both the katana and the wakizashi in his paws, and was surprised when Judy turned around, running out the door and behind it. Nick simply followed behind her. "Well, I'm gonna try!" she shouted, getting her friend to smile brightly.

"I'm with you Carrots!" he said and dropped the swords to place his paws against the seemingly stone door. Gurē ran behind the other door, setting the unconscious Ai down gently, and lifted one of his thumbs. Nick and Judy nodded happily, and the three of the pushed, their strength barely moving the doors. "Come on!" Nick shouted, "It's made of crayon and pastels! It shouldn't be this hard to move!"

The three of them struggled hard, the door seeming to go nowhere, until they felt something hit the door above them. Judy looked up, surprised to see the cape buffalo she called boss, "Chief Bogo?" she asked as the rest of the ZPD began to show up and help.

"You two have a hell of a report to write up!" he grunted as he flexed his muscles against the heavy door.

"Hey!" Nick heard a familiar voce say, and turned to find the brown wolf that had let him in, "Paper work comes after we save the world!"

"Lenny?" Nick asked as he strained to push the door, that just now began to budge and move.

"I got a nose for this Nick!" the wolf grunted alongside him, "Plus, it's kinda hard to hide the fact that you're fighting something from a pandime (Pan-di-may) when the wall of the building explodes!"

"Good point!" Nick said, and turned to the door. The more they pushed, the closer the two doors began to get.

"Damn!" Judy heard Adrian say and chanced a peek inside the space. He had vanished.

"One last push everyone!" she heard Bogo shout, and she got ready, "One, two…" he shouted, and the entire precinct, plus Gurē and the guards of the museum, gave one final push as he shouted, "…three!" The loud slam of stone against stone echoed through the halls as the doors slammed shut, the white light that spilled from the floor and walls fading back into the colors of the world around them.

The entire group held it closed, until the doors shook, rumbled and cracked. They all backed away, watching it crumble, only to reveal the other side of the wall, not the white space they had seen trying to spread everywhere in their world. The paint on the wall faded, turning back into plain brick. The entire room cheered, celebrating a job well done "YES!" Judy shouted and jumped into Nick's arms without warning almost the same time Lenny and Tabatha embraced. He didn't mind, but was shocked when she grabbed him gently by the cheeks, and without warning, kissed him on the lips. She enjoyed it for a second, quickly realizing what she was doing, and broke the embrace in embarrassment. She dropped to the ground with a blush on her face, "Sorry I guess I got a little carried away."

Nick smiled, slowly, but smiled, and reached out, touching his partner's face gently before leaning down and kissing her the same way. She was surprised at first, but quickly relaxed into it. All there was in the world were the two of them, the whoops and whistles of everyone around them sounded like nothing but echoes of the other's heartbeat.

"What happened here?" they both heard Bogo ask. They broke their kiss, and turned to the chief, realizing that he alone had silenced the celebration.

"Well, chief…" Nick said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "You probably wouldn't believe us if we told you!"

Bogo quickly held up a cloven hoof, "Wilde, I've just seen an entire room try to infect Zootopia, you moving at speeds that defy logic, and a black fox warrior that looks like he should have been in a Pandanese cartoon!" he said, "Try me!" His face didn't change, his eyes still stern as he looked at them. Judy and Nick both gulped, to each other, realizing just how much the police chief had seen.

"…and that's the story!" Nick said to the chief. He had told the chief all that he could remember, whether they be flashes or actual memories, he recited all that he could. "I don't remember everything, and a lot of what happened was when Adrian turned back the clock, but as farfetched as it sounds, it's all true."

Bogo nodded, his stern look staying on his face. He knew he needed to separated Judy and the two foxes to keep them from collaborating, but that didn't mean the story was any less unbelievable. Had he not seen Nick vanish in a fit of panic, and the white room try to leak out and swallow Zootopia, he probably would have trouble believing it at all. "Understood!" he said, and stood up, letting Nick stand as well, "I guess it does explain why you were able to knock that origami bird from atop Hopps' head."

"Actually sir!" Nick said as he left the room, "I never did get to repeat that more than once!"


	16. What Do We Do Now?

**Chapter 16 – What Do We Do Now?**

Bogo's eyes went wide in shock, Nick had effectively told him that accuracy was a natural thing to him, "I'll keep that in mind!" When he opened the door, the two of them met up with what looked like a party, colorful banners strung across the ceiling of the bullpen that said Job Well Done. Doughnuts, coffee, juice, sandwiches and something on a large plate that looked strange to the others all spread out on the table while the two groups of law enforcement celebrated secretly saving the world. Judy stood there, waiting for the fox as he came out, "Oh, and to the two of you!" Bogo said as they almost turned away from him. Nick showed his signature grin and half laden eyes, Bogo knew he was going to say something, "Keep it professional!"

"Professionally in love! Got it!" Nick said with a smile, and gave the cape buffalo a thumbs up before walking away with his arm over the rabbit's shoulder.

Bogo slapped his face with his hoof, "Why do I put up with you?" he asked.

"Because I'm the reason Judy's still here!" Nick said, which caused Jud to playfully push him away from her.

"As if!" she giggled, and the wrapped her arms around him.

The two of them met up with Gurē and Ai, who by now had regained consciousness, "You feeling ok?" Judy asked.

"Yes, thank-e you." the other bunny said happily.

"What was that yellow light anyway?" Nick asked.

"It was my soul!" she said, "Or, the thousands of dem dat Adrian had collected by resetting time!"

"Huh!" Nick said and placed his free paw to his chin. He watched Gurē wrap his own arm around Ai, and hold her close, "Gurē, chill. No one's going to take her from you!"

"What will you do now?" Judy suddenly asked.

"Live our lives!" was all the black fox said.

"We're already working on your citizenship. What will you do for a job?" the doe said.

Gurē looked back, eyeing his swords at the door of the precinct, "No!" he heard Nick say, turning his attention back to them, "A wandering swordsman doesn't pay well, plus you'd get arrested way too often. Not acceptable!"

"Hey this is pretty good!" the suddenly heard from the food table. Lenny stood there, the strange thing in his paw as he chewed happily, "You guys gotta try this!"

Everyone in the room gathered round, grabbing the strange thing and biting into it, only to happily and nearly ravenously take another bite. "Is just Eggroll!" Ai said, "Old family recipe!"

"Considering you were locked in time for 800 years, that's a pretty old recipe." Tabatha said.

Nick, gingerly grabbed one of the eggrolls, sniffing it before taking a bite. "Hey!" he said and turned to the two outsiders, "I think I just found out what the two of you can do."

It wasn't long until things were ready, and it seemed like things were booming the first day, "Good-e evening, and welcome to de Kitsune Kitchen!" Gurē said as more customers entered into his and his wife's restaurant.

"Table for two!" the buck dear said as he wrapped his arm around the waist of a well-dressed doe.

"Right this way!" One of the waiters, an otter, had said, and led the two to their table.

"You were right!" Judy said as she and Nick watched the commotion. She was dressed in a sparkling blue dress that hung from her shoulders and hugged her hips, "They're really a big hit!" she said and took a bite of her vegetable Chow Mein.

"Well of course!" Nick said as he set down his chopsticks, "There isn't a place like this in Zootopia, ancient pandanese cuisine, and they can actually claim it!" He then took a bite of the spring roll he had ordered, and smiled, "Way better recipe than any of the other pandanese places!"

Judy chuckled happy that the out of place couple, though they were displaced in time, had quickly found their place in the city. Ai had gotten good at using modern kitchen appliances and utensils, still she insisted on having a fire oven. However, Judy had to admit, it tasted delicious. "So…" she heard Nick say, "Next week, I say we do Italian."

"Not when there's a place this good!" Judy said, and shoved a forkful of fried rice into her mouth.

Nick looked at her, "Oh come on!" he said, "We're going to need variety in this relationship!"

"Hmm!" she said as she looked at him with half laden eyes, "Then I guess we should just keep on looking for ways to save the world!"

Nick grinned, happy that she could easily keep up with his teasing, "I can't wait for our next adventure!" he said.

'It might come faster than you think!' Judy thought to herself without changing her facial expression, 'I know Adrian's still out there, and I intend to find him. But, how do you look for someone who knows magic?'

 **The End?**


End file.
